INFO ON STOKER WIRELESS SYSTEM


 
J

John Winner

TVWBB Member
Hi Guys,
My wired network isn't working where I need it to. Any info on good wireless systems for the Stoker would be greatly appreciated! Brand nmes and any info on where to purchase for best price. Need both router & bridge.
Thanks,
John Winner (with brand new Stoker)
 
If you want a cheap wireless adapter, go to The Home Depot and grab a Belkin Wireless, 4 port router. It'll do most of what you want to do, it'll even act as a wireless access point in case you already have a wired router setup. Next you'll need a wireless bridge to connect the Stoker wirelessly to the access point/router. For that you can use a buffalo wireless gaming adapter, or get a wireless bridge from any number of companies. Linksys has a WET54G & WET11, D-link has a 2100AP & a DWL-810 that will work. Best bet is to go to Amazon or price-grabber and search for a Wireless Bridge.
 
Do a search for my name and you can see all the trouble I had with a couple of Linksys game adapters I tried to get working (this is the old 802.11B that you can pickup on Ebay for cheap). I can't speak for their newer version. I've been very happy with my Buffalo Wireless Ethernet Adapter. My wireless router is a Netgear. No complaints there but if I were starting from scratch I would buy a wireless router and wireless ethernet adapter from the same company. That way at least the configuration menus would be the same.
 
I've had very good luck with my WET11 bridge. Bought it on eBay for $32. I use it with a Linksys WRT54G router.
 
Thanks Alan & Larry,

Just got the "go ahead" from my wife to get a wireless. She thinks wires are "messy" and with the wireless, I can put the WSM anywhere within reach of the signal. Guess I have to search around. Sometimes E-bay isn't the best place to buy, so I willcheck Amazon,Pricegrabber,Buy.com etc. I want to put my WSM on my patio but, don't know if I will smoke-up the house! Do you guys think that might be a problem?
Thanks Again!
 
Not unless you put it right next to the house. Keep it 10' away and you'll be fine. Smoke would rather go up and out. I'd keep your door closed, the smell will drive you nuts( in a good way). I'm not real familiar with the model you have, but, if you have a wood deck you're putting it on, place a few ceramic tiles down to protect against embers, then go for it.
 
Thanks for the advice Ken. My patio is concrete by a swimming pool, I was planning to smoke under the covered (Lanai) area but real close to the open (screened) area. I was doing this in case of rain.
 
I will Ken, never set one up. I just ordered a WRT54GL (like Larry's except it has an "L" at the end...guess it's newer) and a WET54G Ethernet bridge. Will get it Monday the 2nd, so if I have a problem setting it up I would appreciate it. Thank You!
 
Originally posted by John Winner:
I will Ken, never set one up. I just ordered a WRT54GL (like Larry's except it has an "L" at the end...guess it's newer) and a WET54G Ethernet bridge. Will get it Monday the 2nd, so if I have a problem setting it up I would appreciate it. Thank You!
Click to expand...

John,

The L in WRT54GL means Linux. It is a version of the hardware that they maintain compatibility with some third party firmwares like dd-wrt and OpenWRT. If you don't intend on replacing the firmware then this model (vs the 54G or 54GS) doesn't really have that much of an advantage but it is a very good unit regardless.
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4729641740.html

I use a WET11v2 and a WL-330GE as bridges. The WET11 has problems with networks that have multiple SSIDs with the same BSSID but this likely won't be a problem for most home setups.
 
Thanks Nathan,
I really didn't know what the "l" stood for but you explained it,thanks. I will use it as a regular wireless for the time being. I got it at Newegg.com for $40.00 so I figured I could,nt go wrong. The bridge was $75. Maybe paid too much???
Thank you for the info and the link to read.

John Winner
 
Originally posted by John Winner:
Thanks Nathan,
I really didn't know what the "l" stood for but you explained it,thanks. I will use it as a regular wireless for the time being. I got it at Newegg.com for $40.00 so I figured I could,nt go wrong. The bridge was $75. Maybe paid too much???
Thank you for the info and the link to read.

John Winner
Click to expand...

Ah so here is a little secret about your decision to buy the L version..since you can replace the firmware you can actually make the device do anything you want. There is a fantastic free replacement firmware called dd-wrt that replaced the stock one. It allows the device to operate as a router, a bridge, an access point, a repeater or a client. Once you replace the firmware, they are some of the most versatile devices you can have for wireless access. If you had two of them one could be setup as a router/access point and the other as a bridge. If you want to get really fancy, you could actually extend the range of your wireless network using WDS which will still allow it to operate as a bridge while providing extend range to wireless clients (all on the same network/subnet, no double NAT).

Once you have dd-wrt installed, it is just as easy to use as the stock firmware but with 100x the features. There is also OpenWRT but that is for people that are comfortable with a Unix shell.

If you are feeling adventurous and want to end up with a very flexible setup then you might considering canceling/returning the bridge and getting another WRT54GL.

http://dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/index.php
http://dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Bridge_Install

PS: There is a way to get the WRT54GS/WRT54G running dd-wrt but with more recent versions you are better off with just spending a little more and getting a WRT54GL so you don't need to worry about crazy bootstrapping.
 
I bought and hacked a La Fonera router. I picked a few of them up on ebay at around $25 a piece. They are small enough that I'm planning to dremel out holes in the back of my stoker for the antenna and such so that it's permanently inside of my stoker. (If you have ever taken the stoker apart, you'll see there is a ton of room available inside of that case)

When I actually get around to doing the mod, I'll post some pictures and detailed instructions. Foneras are cheap and easy to hack to DD-WRT - but getting them set up into bridge mode can be a pain.
 
Ryan, I have hacked my La Fonera but failed to set it up as a bridge. Please email me at my profile email address for instructions. I would love to get that small La Fonera acting like the wireless bridge.
 
Thanks Nathan & Ryan,
I will check out those firmware web sites. I never knew they (GL) could work as a bridge! I am going to keep the WET54 as I need to smoke some butts and I can't wait to return it and wait for another WRT54GL. It would save some money if I did this (and appreciate your comments to do so) but I am not that familiar with wireless yet so I need to get a "basic" system going before starting to do some experimenting with the GL. I know that to you it would be simple but to me I am afraid the learning curve would take several days! I am dying for some pulled pork,so I just can't wait!
Thank You again for all the info!!!
 
Originally posted by A. Vale:
Ryan, I have hacked my La Fonera but failed to set it up as a bridge. Please email me at my profile email address for instructions. I would love to get that small La Fonera acting like the wireless bridge.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm still in the "getting it to work reliably" phase... I've tried a number of things - and I've read messages of people who say it is possible with a Fonera. The tough part is that since it only has one ethernet jack it's hard to troubleshoot it while you are configuring it.

I'll probably play around with it more some this next month or so. When I get it working I'll post on here some instructions.

I've tried both DD-WRT and OpenWRT on it. I found some script that was supposed to magically turn bridge mode on for a Fonera (you run the script on the fonera)- you just give it parameters - but that script didn't work either.

I'm pretty confident I will eventually get it working - I just haven't had the time to work on it recently
 
Any of you guys ever try dealing the Netgear KWGR614 open source router? Tech support don't even know how to make it work.
 
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